tamermotorsports.com - Champ Car - Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

Sebastien Bourdais by hand surpassed in a duel hand to Paul Tracy yesterday, to give to the equipment Newman/Haas Racing his first victory in 19 years in Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Tracy, that had gained the two previous races in Long Beach and four altogether, left first in the released one and tried to maintain the end. But this race was of the Bourdais French, ruling champion of the series Champ Car, once it surpassed to Tracy to take the advantage in return 38.
The last time that gained the team of the industralist Carl Haas and the actor Paul Newman here was in 1987, when Mario Andretti crossed the first goal and Bourdais hardly had 8 years of age.
And it could be the last time that Champ Car, that it replaced to Formula 1 here in 1984, is run in Long Beach. This it is the last year of the contract and civil servants of Long Beach said that they are considering to replace to Champ Car with the rival series, IRL, in the 2006.
“We want to return the next year”, said Bourdais when he celebrated triumph 11 of his race. “The fanatics saw a great race and we want to return to offer it again”.
Bourdais finalized 4,138 seconds in front of Tracy, almost the length of the main straight line in the street circuit.
“I did everything what I could”, said Tracy. “I have often run in Long Beach and have been much successful here, but this one is one of the most difficult races that I have had”.
Mexican pilot Mario Domínguez finished in the fifth position his first race of the year with the Forsythe equipment.
Mario started from the third position and during 81 returns it stayed in the sharpshooting group, fighting with Sebastien Bourdais, Dark brown Junqueira and its own teammate, Paul Tracy.
“I am contented with the result, clear that it had enchanted to finish to me in the podium, but this was my first race with my new equipment (Forsythe) and we from the beginning did not think to be so competitive. We have much potential to fight by the end in all the races, after everything what we learned in Long Beach, we go very to Monterrey motivated to fight by the victory”, commented Mario.
Serbian Oriol (Dale Coyne Racing) has been eleventh in the race that has initiated in the urban circuit of Long Beach 27º edition of the Champ Car World Series. Catalan, that disputes his sixth season in which historically it is the maximum American reference in competitions of single-seaters, has overcome three places with respect to which it has occupied in the exit formation.
“Although the result does not reflect it, totally I am satisfied because I have strived so much as if one of the places of podio played to me and have made a few advancements. There have been a few factors that have not helped us, like for example the yellow flags, the problems of brakes and gear box and also pit-stops, in which we have been too slow. By all this I feel convinced of the work that I have done in the track. Comparativily, we have initiated the season with Dale Coyne better than when the past year I made debut with this equipment. But also it is certain that we are worse of how we finished the previous season. There has been some change of personnel in the engineering department, that not yet absolutely is defined, and this makes us be irregular”, explains Serbia, that this week will carry out two days of tests in the circuit of Portland (Oregon).
Brazilian the Dark brown Junqueira, teammate of Bourdais, finalized third party, followed of Justin Wilson.
The Series is prepared now for the next race, the 21 of May, the Tecate/Telmex Monterey Grand Prix, that will be disputed in the Fundidora Park, in Monterey. That will be the second event of season 2005.

To see result of the race